


What's in a Name

by Rambling_Museums



Series: Doctor Who oneshots [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gallifrey mentioned, Gen, Names, The Doctor (Doctor Who) Lies, names have power
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:34:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22604806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rambling_Museums/pseuds/Rambling_Museums
Summary: Graham has a follow up question (Post-Spyfall part 2) Like right after the last scene
Series: Doctor Who oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626529
Comments: 5
Kudos: 100





	What's in a Name

“Hey, uh, Doc?” Graham gingerly called the Doctor back to her three friends. Yaz’s request to visit Gallifrey hadn’t been successful but Graham still had loads of questions.

“What?” The Doctor’s face still looked hollowed out and tight.

“Can I ask, um, ‘The Doctor’ ‘The Master’: what’s up with the names on your planet?” It had bothered Graham since the night that Grace died – well once he realized that the strange amnesiac woman in raggedy men’s clothes started calling herself that, so probably not until after the funeral really. Graham saw Ryan nod his head enthusiastically out of the corner of his eye. Yaz had shifted a bit away from the men but still listened intently.

Graham fully expected a non-answer. It was too much to hope that she’d give them any more than what she had. Damn secretive alien. So he could only blink in surprise when the Doctor started laughing.

It was a wonderful sound. Not the tinkling of little bells or anything romantic and soft like that but the full bellied sound of someone who found something truly hilarious. Like seeing your favourite stand up or reminiscing with family. The Doctor laughed so hard she was bent nearly in half with her arms braced on her knees. The sound, the mirth were infectious and Graham found himself laughing as well – though he had no idea what he was laughing about!

In another human Graham might have thought the laughter had a hysterical edge to it. But what did the Doctor have to be hysterical about? They'd survived and she'd made new friends from 1834 and 1943.

“Sorreh,” The Doctor said breathlessly as she wiped at her eye, “I needed tha’.

“Yeah, Time Lords are a bit odd about namin’ things. Bit poncy and all.” She shrugged, acknowledging that anyone who named themselves ‘lords of time’ had to be a bit full of it, “But names are different for us. We all had childhood names, like you lot. I stopped using mine so long ago tha’ I can’t even remember it now. Then when we graduate the academy we choose our names. Tha’s when we stop using the other ones. I chose ‘Doctor’ an’ a friend of mine chose ‘Romanadvoratrelundar’ - Romana for short. That’s the name we travel with, the name that the rest of the universe and the rest of the Time Lords use for the rest of our lives.

“Sometimes,” The Doctor slowly fell back into her melancholic mood as she continued, “Other races give us names too. The Daleks used to call me ‘The Oncoming Storm’ which is a bit poncy too.” she shot Graham an awkward smile, “and we have another name that is only used a few times in a Time Lord’s long life if we’re lucky.” She cleared her throat.

“But it’s not that different from humans really: You have childhood nicknames and as you grow up you grow out of them. Some humans change their names legally or add things to them. Lots of humans change their names when they get married or start new jobs or graduate schools.”

“I don’t really get all the fuss made around my name,” she turned away, back to the console and began tinkering, “After all, when I left Gallifrey no one else was called ‘doctor’ anything.”


End file.
